{"id":30460,"date":"2016-07-07T10:19:32","date_gmt":"2016-07-07T09:19:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.climatechangenews.com\/?p=30460"},"modified":"2016-07-07T10:19:32","modified_gmt":"2016-07-07T09:19:32","slug":"fracking-will-blow-uk-carbon-goals-without-stricter-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.climatechangenews.com\/2016\/07\/07\/fracking-will-blow-uk-carbon-goals-without-stricter-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"Fracking will blow UK carbon goals without stricter rules"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shale gas production will break the UK\u2019s climate change targets unless there is stricter regulation now, according to the government\u2019s official advisers.<\/strong><\/p>\n

More action to cut carbon emissions in other areas would also be needed to cope with full-scale fracking, despite the government already struggling to meet existing commitments<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But the government says it will take no regulatory action in response to the report from the Committee on Climate Change<\/a> (CCC), arguing that the current regime is \u201cadaptive\u201d and will change if fracking companies go into full scale production.<\/p>\n

It says it is important to take advantage of the \u201cfantastic opportunity\u201d of fracking and that it is determined to meet its carbon targets.<\/p>\n

David Cameron has said the government is \u201cgoing all out\u201d for fracking<\/a>, which ministers argue can boost UK business and reduce the nation\u2019s reliance on imported energy. But plans to frack in Lancashire and Yorkshire have attracted large protests from campaigners concerned about potential pollution, disruption and health impacts.<\/p>\n

Interview:<\/strong>\u00a0UK fracking furore will fizzle out says shale chief<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

On Thursday, campaigners applied to the high court for a judicial review<\/a> of North Yorkshire county council\u2019s recent decision to allow fracking<\/a> exploration. Ministers will decide the fate of the application in Lancashire, which the county council rejected<\/a>, by October<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The CCC report, published on Thursday, concluded that shale gas production on a significant scale would breach the nation\u2019s targets for emissions cuts unless three tests are passed.<\/p>\n

First, strict regulation is needed to ensure leaks of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, are kept to a minimum. Second, shale gas must replace imported gas, not be burned in addition. Third, emissions from the production of shale gas itself must be offset by more carbon cuts elsewhere, such as increasing the number of electric vehicles.<\/p>\n

The report found that fracking regulation today is below the \u201cminimum necessary\u201d to meet the first test: \u201cIt certainly requires that a strong regulatory framework is put in place now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prof Jim Skea, at Imperial College London and one of the authors of the CCC report, said: \u201cWe need stronger and clearer regulation. UK environmental policy allows quite a lot of discretion to the regulator and, depending on how things develop, it would be necessary to be more precise if you are to regulate emissions effectively.<\/p>\n

\u201cExisting uncertainties over the nature of the exploitable shale gas resource and the potential size of a UK industry make it impossible to know how difficult it will be to meet the tests.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Current UK regs –> fracking leaks of ~1.3%@theCCCuk<\/a> says this *must* be tightened to ~0.5% https:\/\/t.co\/zvCYbQCJuH<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/sJVg6mqqMo<\/a><\/p>\n

— Simon Evans (@DrSimEvans) July 7, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n